Spinning

ABSTRACT

The invention concerns improvements in spinning and provides for the ready adjustment of the distance between a fibre feeder and a fibre opener of a rotary yarn spinner in an open-end spinning apparatus to improve consistent drafting of the fibres between the feeder and the opener.

United States atet Bouhon 5] Nov. 11, 1975 SPINNING [56] References Cited [75] Inventor: Pierre Hubert Marie Joseph UNITED STATES PATENTS Bouhon, Heusy, Belgium 3,511,045 5/1970 Bures et a1 57/5891 3.732,68l 5/l973 Kutscher et al 57/5895 [73] Asslgnee. iSlocretet gnggy z g 's 3,750,381 8/1973 Greenwood et a1. 57/5891 g usson emers 3,762,144 10/1973 Didck eta]. .1 57/5891 Belgium [22] Filed: Feb. 27, 1974 Primary Examiner-Donald E. Watkins [211 App. NO: 446,520 Attorney, Agent, or FzrmWaters, Schwartz & N1ssen F [57] ABSTRACT orelg Apphctuon Pnonty Data The invention concerns improvements in spinning and Feb. 28, 1973 Belg1um 796093 id f h ready adjustment f h di b tween a fibre feeder and a fibre opener of a rotary [52] US. Cl. 57/5891 yam spinner in an Open end spinning apparatus to [51] Int. Cl DOIh I/IZ prove Consistent drafting of the fibres between the [58] Field of Search feeder and the opener.

4 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures US. Patent Nov il, 1975 Sheet Z of2 3,918,246-

[1 SPINNING This invention relates to apparatus principally concerned with open-end spinning comprising an opener adapted to act on a continuous fibre strip to be regularly fed thereto by a feeder, the fibres being directed towards the periphery of a high-speed rotor from which yarn, after being formed, is removed through an exit tube.

It has been proposed in such devices for the position of the feeder to be adjustable relatively to the opener, the adjustment being effected by the looping of the material around the feed roller. Such an arrangement is responsible for a number of disadvantages, one of which arises because the fibres which make contact with the roller cannot be drafted as readily as the fibres which are outside the strip and which have only fibreto-fibre contact; the disadvantage is very noticeable when the drafting between the feed roller and the opener is very considerable due to the latter running in the region of 500 to 1000 times faster than thefeed roller.

It is an object of this invention to obviate this disadvantage.

According to this invention there is provided apparatus suitable for an open-end spinning facility comprising, an opener element adapted to act on continuous fibre strip to be regularly fed via a fibre inlet to the opener element by a feeder, the fibres being directed towards the periphery of a high-speed spinning rotor whence the yarn formed is removed through an exit tube, the position of the feeder relatively to the opener being adjustable, and wherein the feeder which in known manner comprises a spiked feed roller or an equivalent rotating element for moving the fibre strip towards the opener, is integrally movable linearly to vary the distance between the opening position of the opener and the spiked feed roller or equivalent element of the feeder.

According to one feature of the invention the feeder may comprise a support integral with a baseplate through which screws or other elements extend, such screws or other elements engaging in a groove or slot with which the baseplate or machine frame is formed, the slot extending substantially parallel to the fibre inlet.

More particularly the fibre inlet may be constituted by telescopically engaging elements.

It should be understood that the invention has application in relation to any apparatus comprising an opener whatever the position thereof relatively to the rotor i.e. whether the opener is coaxial of the rotor as is the case in the accompanying drawings, or whether the rotor and the fibre opener are perpendicular to one another or have their axes at an angle to one another.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood the invention will now be described by way of example, reference being made to the accompanying drawings which show an open-end spinning system according to Belgian patent specification No. 788,245 and in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view in vertical section of the installation comprising the feeder; and

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the apparatus of FIG. 1.

The invention can, however, be used with openspinning apparatus in which the fibre-opening and spinning bases are other than shown in the drawings.

The underlying idea of this invention is not open-end 5 spinning per se but concerns the feeding of the fibre strip to the opener. The drawings therefore show a stationary casing 1, fibre opener 2, a discharge outlet tube 5 for the yarn 6 produced, and an annular lip 7 which is disposed on the opener 2 and which co-operates with a ridge 8 of inlet cone 32 to define a radial annular slot 9 which narrows towards its opening and which serves to accelerate the fibres 3 by centrifugal force towards a conical surface 10 which is bent inwardly at the top and which forms part of a spinning rotor 11 rotated by a vertical shaft.

In use the fibres 3 are therefore placed individually on the collecting surface in the form of narrow strips in the groove 13 and are collected there in the form of a stranded yarn 14 which, as a result of the introduction of an already formed yarn to prime continuous operation, is removed through tube 5.

Disposed at the bottom of tube 5 is a funnel 15 which is shaped and positioned to guide the yarn into outlet tube 5. Because of the friction of the yarn on funnel 15, an overtwist is produced which remains in that part of the yarn which is disposed between the funnel l5 and the groove 13 of the rotor.

According to the particulars given in Belgian patent specification No. 788,245, the fibre-opening elements can, with advantage, comprise two parts and have, as its main elements, a simple cheap and replaceable cylindrical ring 16 which has a rigid seal.

Air is removed to a central collector through a chimney 19.

The fibre is fed to the opener by a feeder and the main items of the feeder are a spiked feed roller 20 and a support 21. The roller 20 rotates around a spindle 22 which is in the support 2 1. The roller 20 takes the form of a tubular member which has needles 23 which are disposed at an inclination and in a density chosen to suit the nature of the particular fibre being processed. The roller 20 and the feed rollers (not shown) are driven by the same drive and at the same speed. The drive is, of course, automatically associated with turbine fibre demand.

The fibre strip 24 leaving the feed roller group (not shown) gives long-term regularity of yarn weight (or gauge).

A wall 31 extends around roller 20 to an angle which can be substantially 90 (or in practice any other angle sufficient to control the fibres), this arrangement possibly going as far as tangential contacting.

The fibre strip then goes to the spinning unit through a tubular telescopic inlet tube or duct 25 which can be of rectangular or square or round or other crosssection.

According to the invention, the facility for feeding the strip to the fibre opener is integrally movable linearly to vary a distance L (FIG. 2) between the fibre opening position and the spiked feed roller or equivalent element thereby to make open-end working possible with fibres of any length.

Accordingly, support 21 is integral with a baseplate 26 which extends beyond support 21 and through the intermediary of screws 27 such baseplate 26 and support 21 is slidably associated, because of the slot 28,

with the machine frame 29 the direction of adjustment being parallel to the fibre inlet 25.

The fibre inlet is constituted by telescopically engaging elements.

Clearly, after the nuts of the screws 27 have been slackened, the apparatus comprising the components 20, 21, 26 can be shifted to vary the distance L (the distance between the fibre-opening position 30 in the spinning unit and the spiked feed roller 20).

It should be understood that the feeder assembly is positioned horizontally in the example shown but it can be positioned vertically or so as to make any angle with the axis of the fibre opener.

FlG. 2 shows a system for individual adjustment of a spiked feed roller relatively to the fibre opener.

In a multi-rotor or multi-head spinning machine all the baseplates 26 can be rigidly interconnected and the distance between all the spiked feed rollers and the turbines can be adjusted in a single step, thus facilitating adjustment and making it identical for all the heads.

I claim:

1. An arrangement in apparatus for spinning staple fibers comprising, feeding means with an opening-up roller rotatably arranged in housing means and having needle means on its outer periphery for feeding a fiber strand into said housing means and onto the outer peripheral wall of said openingup roller; a spinning roller rotatably mounted in said housing means and having a conical flange surface bent inwardly at the top; an exit tube for the yarn to be formed; means for adjusting the position of said feeding means relative to the spinningup roller, said fiber strand feeding means comprising a rotating element with spiked feed roller for moving the fiber strand towards said opening-up roller. means for moving integrally and linearly said feeding means to vary the distance between the opening-position on said opening-up roller and said rotating element of said feeding means.

2. The arrangement according to claim 1, including a support for said spiked feed roller, said support being integral with a base plate extending beyond said support, and a machine frame with slots parallel to the fiber inlet into the spinning apparatus, said support and base plate being relatively slidable in said slots.

3. The arrangement according to claim 2, including screws engaging into a slot in said base plate, said slot extending substantially parallel to the fiber inlet, whereby said base plate and said support are relatively slidable.

4. The arrangement according to claim 2, wherein the fiber inlet comprises telescopically engaging elements. 

1. An arrangement in apparatus for spinning staple fibers comprising, feeding means with an opening-up roller rotatably arranged in housing means and having needle means on its outer periphery for feeding a fiber strand into said housing means and onto the outer peripheral wall of said opening-up roller; a spinning roller rotatably mounted in said housing means and having a conical flange surface bent inwardly at the top; an exit tube for the yarn to be formed; means for adjusting the position of said feeding means relative to the spinning-up roller, said fiber strand feeding means comprising a rotating element with spiked feed roller for moving the fiber strand towards said opening-up roller, means for moving integrally and linearly said feeding means to vary the distance between the opening-position on said opening-up roller and said rotating element of said feeding means.
 2. The arrangement according to claim 1, including a support for said spiked feed roller, said support being integral with a base plate extending beyond said support, and a machine frame with slots parallel to the fiber inlet into the spinning apparatus, said support and base plate being relatively slidable in said slots.
 3. The arrangement according to claim 2, including screws engaging into a slot in said base plate, said slot extending substantially parallel to the fiber inlet, whereby said base plate and said support are relatively slidable.
 4. The arrangement according to claim 2, wherein the fiber inlet comprises telescopically engaging elements. 